West Nile virus (WNV) infection has recently emerged in temperate regions of Europe and North America, presenting a threat to humans, horses, and birds. The most serious manifestations of WNV infection is fatal encephalitis. WNV, originally isolated in the West Nile District of Uganda in 1937, is a Flavivirus of the Flaviviridae family, having a size of 40-60 nm, an enveloped, icosahedral nucleocapsid, and a positive-sense, single-stranded RNA genome of 10,000-11,000 bases. For a recent review of WNV, see Holloway, 2000, Outbreak not contained. West Nile virus triggers a reevaluation of public health surveillance, Sci. Am., 282:20,22, which is incorporated herein by reference. Reviews of the viruses in the Flaviviridae family are provided in the following references: Neyts et al., 1999, Infections with Flaviviridae, Verh. K. Acad. Geneeskd. Belg., 61:661-697, discussion 697-699; Leyssen, et al., 2000, Perspectives for the treatment of infections with Flaviviridae, Clin. Microbiol. Rev., 13:67-82; Sherlock, 1999, The hepatic Flaviviridae: summary, J. Viral. Hepat., 6 Suppl. 1:1-5; and Fields, Knipe, & Howley, eds., Fields Virology (3rd ed.) Vols. I & II, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Pubs. (1996), each of which is incorporated herein, in its entirety, by reference.
There is a need for improved methods of prophylactic and therapeutic treatment of Flavivirus and Pestivirus infection. There is a need for improved methods of inducing cell death and of treating diseases characterized by hyperproliferating cells.